During the Seven Years’ War, a young naval officer named James Cook became recognised for his abilities in charting and surveying the coastlines and rivers of Canada. Cook was responsible for successfully charting the entry to the St Lawrence River in 1759, which enabled the Royal Navy and General Wolfe to besiege Quebec at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Following the war, Cook was commissioned to further survey the coast of Canada.

This map of Newfoundland, drawn by Cook in 1763, is highly accurate, with the rugged coastline of the island clearly delineated. Cook’s abilities as a surveyor led to his commissioning by the Admiralty in 1769 to sail to the Pacific with HM Bark Endeavour, where he circumnavigated and charted New Zealand as well as the eastern coast of Australia. Cook would return to North America in 1778 in search of the Northwest Passage, where he became the first Englishman to encounter the peoples of the Pacific Northwest.